West Bankupdated 1h ago2 min read
Heidi Levine Says Masked Israeli Settlers Beat Her With Sticks During West Bank Olive Harvest
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Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine was attacked by masked Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Levine sustained multiple severe injuries and Palestinian youths helped shield and save her.
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One story. Different accounts.
The Guardian“Levine said the attack began only after the Israeli army arrived on the scene.”
The Jerusalem Post“The settlers were forced back by Palestinian youth using slingshots to hurl stones at them, allowing US journalist Jasper Nathaniel to approach and assist Levine.”
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Levine attacked in West Bank
Heidi Levine, a Washington Post photojournalist, was assaulted by masked Israeli settlers while she was covering a Palestinian olive harvest in the occupied West Bank, and Reuters said she was taken to hospital and underwent surgery on a finger.
Levine described the attack in Abu Falah, north of Ramallah, saying, “They started kicking me and beating me with sticks. I can’t even count how many times, probably more than a hundred times.”
Levine said the olive harvesting at Abu Falah had begun peacefully before a group of young masked settlers appeared on a nearby hilltop, and she said the attack began only after the Israeli army arrived on the scene.
Levine said Palestinian youth used slingshots to aim stones at settlers, forcing them back and allowing Jasper Nathaniel to reach her and help her to safety, and she called it “like a biblical battle.”
Arrests and house arrest
Israeli police and a law firm representing settlers said nine of the 10 suspects arrested in an investigation into militant settler attacks were released from custody and placed under house arrest, while Reuters said only one suspect remained in custody. Honenu said a Jerusalem court ordered nine of the 10 suspects to be released to house arrest, and Reuters said the investigation into the violent incidents continued.
Yonatan Kanonich of Yesh Din said, “In the vast majority of attacks against Palestinians, no arrests are made at all,” and he added that in cases with media coverage “the police arrest several settlers and release most of them shortly afterward.” Reuters reported that the attacks followed a mounting wave of militant Israeli settler violence during the Palestinian olive harvest, and Yesh Din said it had reported 125 physical attacks on Palestinian olive harvesters over the 24 days since the season began.
Herzog apologizes, Netanyahu disputes
President Isaac Herzog called Levine to apologize, and Levine recalled, “He was a teddy bear on the phone,” while she said he kept saying the attackers were “a dark stain” and called them thugs.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office put out a statement on X seeking to cast doubt on witness and video accounts of what it called an “alleged attack,” and Levine said, “That’s such bullshit. They helped me up because they couldn’t get my things off of me.”
Levine said the settlers robbed her of a pouch with her documents, her American passport, credit card, camera disk, and a small camera bag with two other lenses, and she said everything was gone.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the IDF, Shin Bet, and Israel Police arrested 10 suspects early Monday morning relating to the attack, and it said the operation was dubbed “Operation Olive Leaf.”